Deathlands

Red Equinox

Synopsis

Three generation after nuclear blasts all but vaporized the Earth, a group of warrior survivalists led by a charismatic man named Ryan Cawdor roam the hostile environment called Deathlands.

Their quest becomes a grim struggle for survival as they search for a better life beyond the nuke-ravaged cities. And it is one such harrowing journey that brings them to the heart of Moscow.

Beneath a mantle of chemical clouds and strontium snow, the former jewel in Russia's crown is teeming with a bizarre mix of mutated beings and old enemies all intent on killing Ryan and his band of post-holocaust survivors.

A new dark age has dawned with the hope of a promised land. But in the Deathlands, hope is not enough.

Excerpt

The door to the hut burst open, sending Ryan tumbling across the floor

A shaft of light pierced the gloom as the door flew off its hinges, but the pale rectangle was swiftly blotted out.

The man who filled the doorway stood at least eight feet tall. He'd stooped to enter the hut, and his head now scraped the rafters. His rad-ruined face showed all the intelligence of a fencepost and all the friendliness of a cornered rattlesnake.

The muties bared his teeth, flexed his hands and reached toward the invaders of his squalid domain. He roared, and the sound was accompanied by billowing waves of stinking breath that made Ryan wince.

"Mine!" Jak shrilled, recovering his balance and launching himself at the human monolith.

The muties never moved. Feet planted wide apart, he swatted the boy away from him as if he were merely an importunate gnat.

Ryan snarled his rage and squeezed the trigger of his P-226. The baffle silencer did its stuff. There was a muffled sound, and a thin trace of smoke trickled from the barrel.

When the Russian didn't even rock on his heels, Ryan felt the first tremor of unease...